Mail delivery on more than 700 carrier routes has been affected by the wildfires in California, the U.S. Postal Service said yesterday.
“We are doing our best to get mail delivered to all consumers,” said David Mazer, a spokesman for the USPS.
Though he could not say how many mail pieces went undelivered yesterday, letter carriers Tuesday were unable to make more than 260,000 deliveries in the San Diego, Van Nuys and Santa Ana districts. That's less than the 400,000 deliveries that were not made Monday.
Hardest hit has been the San Diego District, where thousands of deliveries were limited because of fires, smoke, air quality and lack of access. In the Santa Ana District, unsafe conditions affected deliveries in the Upland, Mount Baldy and Claremont areas. And in the Van Nuys District, fires limited delivery in Simi Valley, Canoga Park, Chatsworth and Moorpark. Also, some post offices lacked power.
“Thousands of customers did not receive mail today, and thousands will not receive mail tomorrow,” Mazer said. “We may see improvements tomorrow, or it may be worse. This is an ever-changing problem.”
The USPS said that contingency plans are being made to accommodate customers whose homes were destroyed by fire. For example, customers can pick up their mail at local post offices. Mazer said no post offices in the three areas have been destroyed.
